The present invention relates to a materials container that is especially adapted as a container for those materials which have organic solvent components. The container is furthermore constructed to be substantially transparent to visible light along a transverse axis thereby resulting in a container that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical to use. In the past, materials having organic solvent components have commonly been packaged or stored in glass containers, metal containers or, in the case of viscous materials such as caulking, sealing and adhesive compounds, cardboard containers have been used for packaging and storage.
With respect to the containment of caulking compounds, the common method of packaging for commercial distribution is an elongated cardboard tube having a nozzel at one end and a moving piston at the other end. A disadvadvantage of such packaging is that the consumer cannot see the contents of the container. Further, during use, it is virtually impossible to accurately ascertain the volumetric contents of the container so that the user is often unaware as to how much material is available for application. Due to the differing weights of caulking materials, the purchaser is also unable to ascertain whether or not the manufaturer has completely filled the caulking tube, which shortfills inadvertently, occur due to the cavitation of the highly viscous caulking compound.
While there has been a long felt need for a transparent containers for materials containing organic solvent components, such containers have been generally unavailable with the exception of glass containers. Specifically, commonly available and inexpensive transparent plastics have a rather low barrier to vapor migration and are thus fairly permeable to organic solvents. Accordingly, it is both impractical and hazardous to package volatile materials in plastic containers. Recently, though, a high barrier transparent plastic material, called amorphous nylon, has been developed which material exhibits high resistance to vapor migration. The drawback of this material, though, is its extremely high cost as a potential packaging material.
Further, while the caulking industry has developed transparent caulking compounds such as silicones and block copolymer rubber (also known as thermoplastic elastomers) that physically vulcanizes by molecular immobilization, it is difficult to convey to the consumer the transparent properties of such materials at the point of sale under current packaging techniques since the material is not visible through the opaque container. Further, the relative clarity between different "transparent" caulking compounds due to impurities, entrained air bubbles, and the like, cannot be readily shown to consumers for relative product comparison under current packaging techniques.
Accordingly, there is a general need for a container that is inexpensive in manufacture and which nonetheless is suitable for packaging materials having organic solvent components or other highly volatile components. There is an especial need in the caulking industry for a transparent container which can suitably package caulking materials so that the materials may be visible to the consumer. There is yet a further need for a combination product of a transparent container and transparent caulking material wherein the entire combination is substantially transparent to visible light thereby allowing a consumer to appreciate the clarity of the material to be purchased.